Kappa Mikey
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| Kappa Mikey | |
|---|---|
 Kappa Mikey |
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| Genre | Animated sitcom |
| Running time | 22 minutes approx. |
| Creator(s) | Larry Schwarz |
| Starring | Michael Sinterniklaas Stephen Moverley Annice Moriarty Pete Zarustica Sean Schemmel Gary Mack Jesse Adams Evelyn Lanto |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original channel | Nicktoons Network |
| Original run | February 25, 2006–present |
| No. of episodes | 26 ordered, 18 aired as of December 7, 2006 |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Kappa Mikey is an American animated television series created by Larry Schwarz, which premiered on the Nicktoons Network on February 25, 2006, and premiered on Nickelodeon on August 20, 2006. It is MTV's first global acquisition. In April of 2006, it was picked up for a second season, of which the first episodes are close to completion.
Kappa Mikey is marketed as "the first anime to be produced entirely in the United States" (without any overseas animation), according to press releases from MTV, Nicktoons Network, and various other sources, though, that statement is clearly debatable. More likely, it is an American animated series that mimics, and/or pays homage to, anime. It is produced by Animation Collective with voiceovers recorded at NYAV Post. It is animated in New York City using Adobe Flash, with some moments of CGI rendered in Maya.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The series centers around Mikey Simon, a teenage actor from Cleveland, Ohio, who embarks to Japan after winning a scratch-off card contest to star in the country's formerly popular anime series, LilyMu, and in doing this, rockets the show back to the top of the ratings, and becomes Japan's biggest anime star. Segments of LilyMu are seen at the beginning and end of each episode and even in the climax of the episode on occasions such as "LilyMeow," "The Good, the Bad, and the Mikey," and "The Phantom of the Soundstage," but the show focuses primarily on the actors' and producers' lives off-set and Mikey's adjustments to the new world he has entered (similar in concept to The Famous CREE). The humor comes from the fact that because Mikey is a AMERIKAjin (American), he actually stands out visually from the other cast members. While most characters on the show are drawn in an anime-inspired style (thin outlines, big, detailed eyes, small mouths, and all ten fingers), Mikey (and all other American characters) is drawn in a retro-inspired American cartoon manner (thicker outlines, single black dot pupil eyes, a larger mouth, and only eight fingers. Each episode starts with the cast filming a Lilymu segment, but the take is ruined, sometimes revealing the conflict that they deal with through the rest of the episode, with a minor subplot running beneath the main plot. After the problem is resolved, the LilyMu segment will be shot again and successfully completed the second time, often changed to incorporate whatever lesson was learned during the main story.
The show has a large comedic overuse of face faults, such as a character's face and/or body turning into an exaggerated general appearance, or becoming much smaller. Clichés common to anime include the sweat drop, lines over the eyes or no eyes at all, big heads, flaming eyes, bodies becoming smaller (or chibi as referred to in anime fandom). Sometimes Mikey will try to do these things which are one of the show's running gags, but cannot due to being drawn in an American style (however, he does other show emotion, such as turning red skinned when angry).
[edit] Major characters
[edit] Mikey Simon
Voiced by: Michael Sinterniklaas
With help from a winning scratch-off card, Mikey transforms from a wannabe teenage American actor to the star of the once popular yet now declining LilyMu television show, which he brings back to the top of the ratings. On the show, he is Kappa Mikey, leader of Team LilyMu, and rides his own motorcycle, which was given to him by a biker gang called the Chums.
Mikey has a rough time adjusting to this new lifestyle, according to the episode Lost in Transportation- he doesn't have any room in the battlewagon OR Lily's punchbug, and he doesn't even have his own actor's chair. Curious yet naive, egotistical, and a bad listener, Mikey often gets himself and his co-stars into strange disasters, which often leads to Ozu firing and rehiring them. His precociousness and failure to adapt reflects many childrens' experiences of trying to adjust to living in a new country, or any kind of life change, and is where the major theme of the entire show stems from. He has no clear recreational hobbies except for video games, which is only referenced in two episodes. In fact, off-work, he is very lazy- his apartment is often a mess.
Mikey is almost as vain as Lily; in Saving Face he sold out his crew so he wouldn't be shown in Tokyo magazines with a pimple (and in turn kicked off Lilymu). He also has a crush on his co-star, Lily, even though she is mean-spirited and seems eager to make life miserable for him whenever she can.
[edit] Mitsuki
Voiced by: Evelyn Lanto
On the show, Mitsuki is the tough-as-nails bad girl member of the LilyMu team. Off camera however, Mitsuki is the complete opposite, being graceful and generous, even if the rest of the crew tends to unwittingly walk all over her all the time. Her name is Japanese for "three months" or "Full Moon".
Her strong sense of right and wrong makes her the comedic foil to the rest of the cast as well as a voice of reason and conscience that's often ignored. However, when she does reach the end of her patience, Mitsuki can be quite devious, as seen in Mikey Likes It (Garbage), The Sumo Of All Fears, and LilyMeow. She and Lily are roommates.
Mitsuki is completely in love with Mikey, and tries to make him feel welcome on the show and in Japan. There are times when Mitsuki compliments Mikey romantically. Mikey either doesn't understand what she is saying or isn't there to hear it. Out of all the elements of the show (Kappa Mikey), Mitsuki's love for Mikey is what fans appear to relish the most, and almost all the fanart and fanficton based on the show deals with this relationship. The only other person that knows about Mitsuki's affections is Lily, after she read Mitsuki's diary. Mikey read it too and noticed it, but he thought Mitsuki was writing about a guy named "Mickey" (Quote: "Hey, who's this Mickey person you're always writing about?"). Lily hasn't mentioned anything about it ever since. In A Christmas Mikey, Mitsuki and Mikey share a kiss under the Mistletoe.
[edit] Lily
Voiced by: Annice Moriarty
On the set, Lily is Japan's sweetheart, but off-duty, she has a bad temper and a pushy attitude, making her the stereotypical stuck-up and spoiled actress (among other stereotypes) of LilyMu, and now seems to be the co-star. She can't stand that the fame and adoration that used to be hers are now given to Mikey. She is desperate to knock him off his star pedestal by getting him fired so she can be the Lilymu star again, seemingly unaware that it was Mikey who saved the show from its low-ratings slump in the first place. Her attitude makes her an enemy of the rest of the cast at some points. Despite her temper, Mitsuki is surprisingly understanding toward her and can tolerate her behavior, which could be because they are roommates. According to the episode Saving Face, she has to wear a retainer.
Lily owns a pink Beetle-type car (also known as a "punchbug") which holds four people: herself, Gonard, Guano, and Mitsuki, and a bathtub in the trunk.
[edit] Gonard
Voiced by: Sean Schemmel
On the show, Gonard is an evil, purple creature, a criminal bent on destroying Team LilyMu and taking over Tokyo. Off camera, Gonard is a big, lovable, normally colored oaf/moron. He is innocent, a bit insecure, constantly hungry, and often has an illogical way of thinking. Gonard takes a quick liking to Mikey as a friend and helps him adapt to his new life in Tokyo. He has a fondness for Colonial dress and a food obsession, especially for sandwiches. Gonard has several suspicious items stuck to the seat of his pants, which he often loses, and has items hidden beneath his huge puff of blue hair. He also knows how to speak with a British accent, taught by Guano. He can hold large amounts in his mouth at a time, such as lemons, water, several live cows, or Guano. Though Gonard is made out to be an idiot most of the time (for instance, "Mikey's not from Cleveland, Mikey's from America!"), he does have brief moments of intelligence often. His ears seem to resemble that of an elf and his canine teeth are pointed like his character on the show, though it's not as obvious off set as it is when he's on camera. He also lives with his mom (who is never seen).
The character is largely a spoof on Goku, as seen by the large and constant food intake and the fact that he is good-natured, if a bit stupid, plus the more obvious issue of his name. This is emphasized by the fact that both him and the actual Goku character are voiced by Sean Schemmel.
[edit] Guano
Voiced by: Gary Mack
Guano is both a star, the writer, and the neurotic director of LilyMu. He is another friend of Mikey's and helps him get around Tokyo. On the show, he is the stereotypical cute sidekick; a small, purple, Pikachu-like creature. He can fly, shoot lasers out of the gem on his stomach, and all he says on camera is his own name (a clear reference to Pokemon). But off-camera, he refuses to take his costume off. In The Phantom of the Soundstage, the costume becomes terribly disgusting and dirty. But even then, he still hides his true identity by just changing into a newer version of the suit! He is afraid of the dark (as well as his own shadow), never seems to shower, and is also afraid of girls (except for Lily and Mitsuki). He will not reveal where he lives. His name comes from the Spanish word for "manure". In every episode he seems to stop the LilyMu show by yelling "CUT!" when something goes wrong, such as Mikey messing up or heavy objects falling on Gonard (or both, like in the episode Mikey Likes It (Garbage)) (occasionally, it is Ozu who yells cut at the beginning of an episode). It is interesting to note, apart from resembling Pikachu he also resembles the ebil moglin Zorbak of Adventure Quest. In A Christmas Mikey, it is revealed that Guano is Ozu's long-lost son.
[edit] Ozu
Voiced by: Stephen Moverley
The ill-tempered producer of LilyMu, Ozu rules the show with an iron fist. More often than not, he yells at and scolds the cast, except Mikey, who he sees as the savior of the show and who can usually do no wrong in his eyes, though he has shown to be a gentle, caring and supportive mentor as well. He has been the driving force in Japanese television for six decades. He owns a 500-year-old Bonsai tree, which he loves more than his cast. He seems to have had the same face, hair and head size since his birth. He grew up in a traditional Japanese lifestyle, and at some point in his life, married a woman named Kyoko in Kutaguro, and had a son. Ozu is constantly canceling the LilyMu show when Mikey or the cast does something wrong, such as destroying his Bonsai tree, Mikey losing the government's invisible coat, or when he thought Mikey flushed his fish. He has a habit of firing the entire cast whenever they displease him, but is quick to hire them back (kind of like how J. Jonah Jameson treats Peter Parker) once his rage has been pacified or their popularity reestablished. (In LilyMeow he mentioned that they are rehired but only until he remembered the original reason for firing them.) Ozu used to hate Christmas because his family disapeared on Christmas day. His baby son, which he thought he lost, was actually Guano. Now he loves Christmas for that reason.
[edit] Yes Man
Voiced by: Jesse Adams
Ozu's chimp-faced assistant and sidekick. He doesn't seem to do anything for LilyMu, except agree with Ozu (hence his name), and possibly be the voice that shouts the show's name at the beginning of each LilyMu episode. He often speaks in short, loud, random phrases. According to The Fugi-Kid, he once went under the name of Denim Boy and was apparently the "most popular kid in all of Japan" (perhaps only in his mind). He is the most exaggerated character in the sense of a cartoon, as he usually pops up at various places of the screen, usually to complete a statement started by Ozu. He is also the butt of all the other cast member's beatings, whether they intend it or not.
[edit] Yoshi
Yoshi, the Camera Man - A shy, blond, beer-bellied man. He operates the camera for the LilyMu show, and is featured somewhere in every episode, sometimes as a main role (such as in Battle of the Band), but mostly as an easter egg. He also appears to be Ozu's coffee-and-donuts boy, although his is a tough job - Ozu has punished him rather badly for simply forgetting the cream and sugar in his coffee. He sometimes takes baths in the trunk of Lily's car (as shown in Lost in Transportation). He appears to live in LilyMu Towers with the other cast members. In A Christmas Mikey, when Mikey wished he never went to Tokyo, the guardian angel told Mikey Lily had married Yoshi, and apparently took on his weight problem as well).
[edit] Minor Characters
Just about all of these characters appear at least a few times in episodes that follow each of their debut appearances.
Mom and Dad - Mikey's parents. They have yet to be seen (it is probable that they, like Mikey, are animated in an American style, since their answering machine(s) and counter top are rendered in this way), but they have been featured in the episodes: Easy Come, Easy Gonard, Lost in Transportation, The Switch, Saving Face, and La Cage Aux Mikey. Even though they never answer their phone when Mikey calls them for help, their rather offbeat answering machine messages nearly always give some sort of help - even if it isn't in the way one would expect. Mikey appears to be their only child. In his absence from America, Mikey's parents have rented out his room to an accordion-playing troll.
Sushi Trio - Little sushi-beings that serve as scene changers or bumpers. They dance around and make cute noises. They are sometimes accompanied by other random characters, such as a sushi chef or a sumo wrestler.
Gonard's Mother - Gonard still lives with her in LilyMu Towers, or at least in the same place. In The Switch she has a woman's voice, while in The Fugi-kid, and all the succeeding episodes, she is voiced by Sean Schemmel in falsetto, with an Irish accent.
Dr. Takashi Katashi - 'Plastic Surgeon To The Stars', he wears a generic doctor headband over his eye, much in the fashion of Kakashi Hatake from Naruto (his name is a parody of Kakashi's name as well, plus the hairstyles are very close, and his left eye is blocked by something as well). He is also roughly based on Professor Oak from Pokemon. He performs an unintentional 'pimple enlargement' on Mikey, because he had to do two operations at once (first trying to remove Mikey's pimple, but failing; and turning Yes Man into a muscular man). He did plastic surgery on Socky, to make him beautiful: information which led to Socky's downfall.
Socky - Sock puppet pop icon with a mind of its own, spokesperson for Hitoshi Beauty Cream, and rival of Lily for Teen Trend's 50 Most Beautiful. However, he was removed from the list, after Mikey discreetly revealed that the sock had once been a "dork".
Scoop - Editor-in-chief of a tabloid newspaper in Japan. Threatened to expose Mikey's pimple to the masses unless he could get pictures of his friends in more embarrassing situations. Bears a strong resemblence to J. Jonah Jameson.
Agent Yoshida - A Japanese government agent that bears a resemblance to Commander Amarao from FLCL, complete with eyebrows (he also wears a similar uniform to the one Naota does at the end of the anime). He arrested Mikey for a crime he did not commit (Supposedly, he stole an invisibility coat). However, later on, he does arrest the real crook, with Mikey's help.
Lily's Mirror - A mirror with a mind of its own, which tells Lily how beautiful - or not - she is. It always talks in a synthesized monotone.
Speed Racer - An older version of the famed racer. He makes a cameo appearance in the theme song as the LilyMu team's limousine driver, and in the pilot episode. In A Christmas Mikeys parody of It's A Wonderful Life, he can be seen as the hypothetical scratch card contest winner for Lilymu, in place of Mikey, yelling "I'm back!" However, this choice drops the rating for Lilymu down enough for Ozu to cancel the show.
Pirate Captain - Captain of a pirate ship and five other pirates. He first appears in episode Ship of Fools when he gives Mikey a pirated video game in exchange for Gonard. Mikey manages to frighten the pirate into abandoning ship (courtesy of the Super Gonard balloon) in order to save Gonard. One of his pirates bears a striking resemblance to Lucky Roux, (one of captain Red-Haired Shanks' pirates) from the anime and manga One Piece. In La Cage Aux Mikey, the Captain fills in for Mikey's dad after they announce their cancelled trip to Japan.
The Chums: A gang of outcast bikers who accept Mikey as an "honorary member" when he is convinced that the rest of the LilyMu cast are leaving him out of activities and, quite literaly, vehicles, in Lost In Transportation. They are big fans of Lilymu, and give him the motorcycle that Mikey eventually uses as a regular prop on the show. Mikey is most acquainted to their leader, Beef, who teaches him the Chums bear-hug. Mikey eventually becomes friends again with the cast, but the Chums keep in touch with him using a whistle whenever he needs help (so far, he hasn't officially used it, although the motorcycle they gave him has been used in several LilyMu sequences). Beef comes back in "La Cage Aux Mikey" to pretend to play Mikey's mom.
Mr. Stereo: One of Ozu's company sponsers and best business partners in Lost In Transportation. Mr. Stereo sells stereos at bargain prices, and claims that if his stereos don't please his customers, he will do crazy things, even though he does them anyway. Those crazy stunts turn into his one running joke. He has a spoiled son named Timmy who is a huge fan of Lilymu.
Pierre - The waiter of the unnamed 'Finest Restaurant in Tokyo'. He has a french accent.
Mikey Cosplayers - Big fans of Mikey, they dress in his LilyMu uniform and show up at social events involving him. One of them resembles Conan Edogawa from Detective Conan, and another resembles Zangief, of Street Fighter fame.
The Cat Burglar - An unnamed bandit who steals the thang coat in The Fugi-Kid. Throughout the episode, he was thought to have only one arm, due to the other being covered by the coat during the Mikey-witnessed theft. Agent Yoshida has been chasing him for five years-he has stolen over 2,000 cats, plus the bank robberies he committed using the coat and framed Mikey for. Known to Mikey as "The One-Armed Man" until revealed that the coat was covering one arm. ("What are you!? Some kind of TWO armed man!?") He also made a second appearance in LilyMeow/Lily Meow, revealing that he eats the cats after he catches them and that he is also allergic to cats. His extreme lankiness and strange chin give him a resemblance to characters from the Lupin the Third franchise.
Suave Mikey - First appeared in Ship of Fools. He looks exactly like Mikey (making him one of the only other known people in Japan to be drawn in an American style along with Lawrence Von Martenhouse), with the exception of his black sunglasses and noticeably refined demeanor. He unintentionally fools Lily, who thinks that he is great, and Mitsuki, who thinks that he is a jerk, into thinking that he is the real Mikey Simon.
Spartacus Clone - A good imitation of the Thracian, cued in to yell something at the most opportune time.
Ozu's Robots - Ozu's robots that first appear in the theme song of Kappa Mikey. They reappear as security robots in Mikey Impossible. They appear again in Mikey Likes It (Garbage), dancing with Mitsuki, Guano, and Mikey in The Recycling Song.
News Reporters - Unnamed reporters who often get involved with the LilyMu team from time to time.
News Anchor - A grey-haired man on TV who makes his first appearance in Ship of Fools. He announces the news from time to time.
Peter/Vito - This man is often is misheard by fans and viewers alike, and thus is thought to be named 'Peter' or 'Vito' (closed captions of Ship of Fools say "Vito"). He is a Mafia member, and appeared in Ship of Fools, facing a pirate death sentence (walking the plank).
Mr. Tatami: Former owner of Tatami Megastore, a carrier of LilyMu merchandise, and the Tatami Room. Father of the Tatami Twins. Mikey owed him 20 million yen, until Ozu bought the Megastore from him, making him an employee of Ozu, and causing Mikey's debt to change, so he now owes Ozu 20 million yen.
The Tatami Twins: Two immensely fat little boys who are the sons of Mr. Tatami. They mistake Guano for a toy, and even throw Lily and Mitsuki into the 'Tatami Room' for 'shoplifting' (trying to save Guano). They could be a reference to the classic Mario Bros. (red and green shirts & overalls), who looked equally chubby at the time. Their heads look almost exactly the same as the Troublemaker Studios's logo.
Lawrence Von Martenhouse: An American actor (also drawn in an American style, like Mikey). He played Captain Impressive on American TV several years back, and this has made him Mikey's childhood hero. He puts on a rather embarrassing Dum-Dum Show at the Tatami Megastore, the result of which 'inspires' Mikey to become a bad boy. Von Martenhouse eventually gets to be Captain Impressive one last time, trying to stop a riot that Mikey started. Is currently on the Dum-Dum Hour.
Kello: A small kitten that Mikey finds and adopts in order to get attention for himself in LilyMeow. The kitten ends up stealing the spotlight from the entire LilyMu cast, since he is "cute". After failing to squash the LilyMu cast for proving more popular than him, he was posted on a Teletubbies-like TV show where he is thrown up in the air and sprayed with water. He is a parody of Hello Kitty. In later episodes, he shows up as just an anonymous kitten.
Dr. Igor: Appearing in Big Trouble In Little Tokyo, Dr. Igor is a mad scientist who lives on in the 'secret floor' (the 13th) of Lilymu Towers, and the only way to get there is by revealing the secret panel behind all the other buttons in the elevator. He claims to have created all the monsters in the old monster movies in the past, and invented ways of making them huge. Now, he makes a hobby out of shrinking monsters so they become tiny. His face bears a strong resemblence to Vash the Stampede from Trigun.
Forbes- Dr. Igor's son and assistant, however he resembles a demon with a bat's face and ears, chicken's feet, scaley arms, and a tail in contrast to Dr. Igor's human appearance (either, his mother looked like this, he was adopted, he was created by Igor or Dr. Igor ultered him from a normal human into a demon). He is very charismatic, and is the only other character besides Mikey known to come on to Lily and Mitsuki without hesitation. He designed the monster's butts.
The Phantom of the Soundstage - The title character for Episode 14 in the airdate order- a tall, operatic, shadowy figure who is obviously a parody on the title character of the Broadway musical The Phantom of the Opera. He works undercover as Ozu's studio janitor. He wears a traditional Japanese demon mask, instead of the white, half-mask, and his design may be modeled after a Bishōnen. He talks in an odd, fragmented manner, patterned after actor Christopher Walken. As the Phantom, his soul purpose is to punish anyone who pulls a prank, and his motivation stems from his life history- he used to be a member of the original Lilymu team, but his role was overshadowed by a newcomer, "some guy from Canada" (an obvious parody of the show's premise), who played pranks on him. Because of this, he has many similarities to Lily, which proves to be convenient when she tries to get back at Mikey for pulling pranks on her. The prank that drove him over the wall was when the Canadian actor wrote "fart" on his forehead in permanent marker, which the Phantom changed to "party" later on in the episode in order to make it look better.
Canadian actor - Also in The Phantom of the Soundstage, the Canadian actor is the person who overshadowed the phantom on the original LilyMu show, similar to how Mikey overshadowed Lily. Known for his mischievous pranks, the name of this man is never told. Like Mikey, he is drawn in the style of an American cartoon.
Orie and Yorie - A pair of rock stars who appear in Battle of the Band, challenging the LilyMu's new band to a playoff. The two are based on hit Japanease J-pop players PUFFY, featured in Cartoon Network's Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi, however, they are presented as villains in this episode. They too have a cartoon show that the Lilymu crew watches for inspiration. At the end of the episode, despite hating them for posing as the real thing, they express their admiration for the Lilymu show.
Masaka Masako - Appears in Battle of the Band. A glamourous red-carpet host who introduces the Lilymu band and hosts the rock battle itself, a la Joan Rivers. At the same time, the character spoofs Yubaba from Spirited Away, complete with a large head, eyes, and stout body.
Cleveland Reporter - Appears in La Cage Aux Mikey. Rendered in American style like Mikey, he is from Cleveland, Ohio, who comes to Japan to get an inside scoop on Mikey's life. He knows Scoop, the Japanese tabloid reporter who blackmailed Mikey to reveal his friends' most embarrassing moments in Saving Face.
The Ghosts of Japanese Christmas Past, Present, and Future - Appear in A Christmas Mikey. These holiday ghosts are given a Japanese twist for the show, doning samurai armor. Past is short, round, and pink, and doesn't have as strong a constitution as the other two. Present is skinny, blue, and has long, wavy arms, with an accent like that of a surfer's. Future is tall, muscular and dutiful, in constrast to the other two, and appears to be the leader. It is the latter who finally convinces Ozu that Christmas is a great holiday, for he tells him that on Christmas Day, Ozu will finally find his son.
Lawrence - In A Christmas Mikey, Lawrence is Mikey's guardian angel- a parody of the character Clarence on It's A Wonderful Life. He appears to be modelled on a Bishōnen- tall and pretty, with blond hair, long cloak and a scarf. His goal is to convince Mikey not to go home, and in doing so, hopes to earn his wings. Mikey points out that he already has wings, but they are the small, unimpressive "standard issued ones", and is aiming for the huge, golden wings. Lawrence is the very last character to be seen at the end of Season 1, winking at the audience, and flying into a star.
[edit] Theme Song
The Kappa Mikey theme song is called "Hey (x2) Look (x2)" by Beat Crusaders
[edit] List of episodes
Episodes are in the order of airing. Aired dates correspond to the Nicktoons Network, unless otherwise stated.
Episode 1 - The Switch
Original Airdate: February 25, 2006 and September 10, 2006 on Nicktoons Network
Due to inability to find an apartment in Tokyo, Mikey (who had previously been staying in a capsule hotel) seeks one in LilyMu Towers, where his friends all live - but, nobody has moved out of the building for years. Ozu presents a solution - Mikey will move into the apartment shared by Lily, who despises the situation, and Mitsuki, who is overjoyed. In the subplot, Guano, whose collapsable box tower is repeatedly destroyed, is slowly losing his grip on sanity, subsequently leading to Gonard handcuffing himself and Guano together so he can keep an eye on him-- but they end up losing the key.
Episode 2 - Mikey Impossible
Original Airdate: February 25, 2006 and September 17, 2006 on Nicktoons Network
Ozu decides to take a vacation- his first in several decades. Before going, he reads off a long list of rules, most importantly, not to harm his prized 500-year-old Bonsai tree or his samurai sword. Of course, even before he reads this, Mikey accidentally sets the tree aflame with Ozu's samurai sword. Now, Mikey and most of the gang (excluding Lily, who is their temporary boss, and doing all she can to keep them busy) must work to replace the Bonsai before Ozu gets back from his unusually short vacation. There is no real subplot in this episode.
Episode 3 - Ship Of Fools
Original Airdate: March 4, 2006 and September 24, 2006 on Nicktoons Network
After hearing of the release of his new video game, Mikey tries desperately to get his hands on it - but at the release, fans carry away every available copy. After many unsuccessful attempts at obtaining a copy, he is forced to 'pirate' a copy - that is, get it from actual pirates. He does get the game, but the pirates take something from him in exchange - Gonard! Now, Mikey must save his friend, even if it endangers his life, and the game. In the subplot, in Mikey's absence, Lily is getting swept into the charm of Suave Mikey(but Mitsuki doesn't like him), a Mikey look-alike (they are even drawn the same way) whom they mistake for the real Mikey .
Episode 4 - Saving Face
Original Airdate: March 11, 2006, and October 1, 2006 on Nicktoons Network
After being licked by a pig repeatedly, Mikey develops a large pimple. He makes every effort he can to hide the pimple, until an evil tabloid publisher snaps a picture, and threatens to publish the pimple if Mikey does not give him embarrassing secrets about his friends. In the subplot, Lily is outraged over her replacement as spokesperson for Hitoshi Beauty Cream. Her replacement? Socky, a sock puppet popculture idol. She works to beat him out for Teen Trend's 50 Most Beautiful List, a feat that could be helped discretley by Mikey.
Episode 5 - The Fugi-Kid.
Original Airdate: March 18, 2006, and October 8, 2006 on Nicktoons Network
LilyMu has a prop on loan from the government: a hi-tech invisibility jacket. Naturally, Mikey goes and fools with it, leading to its theft by a 'one armed-man'. Mikey is framed, convicted, and nearly goes to jail - but, he escapes from the officer holding him, and finds himself on the lam. In order to clear his name, he must catch the man who stole the coat and prove himself innocent. There is no subplot.
Episode 6 - Mikey Likes It (Garbage)
Original Airdate: March 25, 2006 and November 12, 2006 on Nicktoons Network
Mikey can't figure out Japan's recycling system, until Mitsuki and Guano explain it to him using a show tune. Of course, then, he is obsessed with it, and begins throwing out personal belongings, including Mitsuki's beloved photo album. He recovers the album, but as he picks it up, all the pictures get sucked out of the book through an air vent. Now, he must attempt to recreate the pictures before Mitsuki notices. When a news journalist who discovered the embarrassing photos shows them on the news, Mitsuki gets mad at Mikey for losing her pictures. Mikey tries to explain, but only makes Mitsuki even madder, not just because she has been humiliated all over Japan, but mostly because she thought Mikey wanted to spent time with her as a friend, but instead, only hanging out with her to get replacement photos and not showing much affection for her. In the subplot, Gonard and Lily are tricked into a sham romance to stir publicity by Ozu.
Episode 7 - Easy Come, Easy Gonard
Original Airdate: May 27, 2006 and October 22, 2006 on Nicktoons Network
Mikey is elated upon receiving his first paycheck from LilyMu Studios (after the initial shock that he is paid for acting), so he's naturally eager to spend it. He ends up buying off a younger crowd of fans by promising them to pay for merchandise in his likeness from Tatami Megastore. However, the owner of Tatami Megastore, Mr. Tatami, informs him he owes 20 million in yen (approximately $173,000) for the toys he bought, and he has to get the money in 24 hours or face certain doom in The Tatami Room. His plans for raising money backfire, as does his friendship with Gonard in the resulting fight. Mikey and Gonard are sent to the Tatami Room to pay off the debt and Lily, Mitsuki and Guano were sent to the Tatami Room for shoplifting. Mikey calls Guano, then Mikey and Gonard send a letter to Ozu to help them. Nearing the end of the episode, when Mr. Tatami recaptures the LilyMu cast, Ozu shows up and tells Mr. Tatami that he now owns Tatami Megastore.
In the subplot, Mitsuki and Lily attempt to rescue a scared-witless Guano from the two spoiled sons of Mr. Tatami, who think that Guano is a toy.
Episode 8 - Lily Meow or LilyMeow as the opening theme would call it
Original Airdate: June 3, 2006, Nicktoons Network
Mikey adopts a lost kitten named Kello to gain popularity, but instead the cat gains more popularity than the entire LilyMu franchise. After the platform that Kello the kitten was on from above comes crashing down, he gets injured, Ozu blames the LilyMu team (except Guano) and fires them. They then hire the same coat crook from the 'Fugi-Kid' to steal the kitten, but little do they know, the coat crook eats cats. They're able to stop him (despite the fact that it was them who hired the bandit to steal the cat in the first place). The fans then celebrate team Lilymu's victory and they get the most attention again (plus, Ozu re-hires them until he can remember why he fired them in the first place). In the subplot, Lily and Mitsuki have a spat over the placement of their characters' mannequins in a LilyMu store.
Episode 9 - Splashomon
Original Airdate: August 27, 2006, Nickelodeon
Ozu's new prize Jade Tigerfish is stolen so they start a crime scene investigation on who took the Jade Tigerfish. Guano says Gonard took it. Lily says Mikey did it. Then Mikey says he took it, only to tell a story, but after he does Mitsuki admits she took it because she was afraid Ozu was going to kill it. Ozu actually intends to make it the centerpiece of his new aquarium. The whole episode is a spoof on the story formula utilized in the Japanese film Rashomon. There is no subplot in this episode.
Episode 10 - The Good, The Bad, The Mikey
Original Airdate: July 8, 2006 Nicktoons Network
Mikey, Gonard and Guano catch The Dum Dum Show in the Tatami Megastore. However, the embarrassing antics of the actor who played Mikey's favorite superhero "Captain Impressive" embarrass Mikey. Not wanting to wind up with the same fate, Mikey turns himself into a bad boy and becomes a bad role model for Tokyo's child audience. In the subplot, Lily teaches Mitsuki all about dating, something she thought she could reconsider when she finds out that's Mitsuki's secret love is Mikey.
Episode 11 - The Sumo Of All Fears
Unable to lift a heavy prop, Mikey goes to the gym. There, he gets a new rival in the shape of a Yokozuna, which challenges him. He and Guano get trained by a janitor. Mikey inexplicably beats the Yokozuna by tickling him, but once he does, he becomes the new Yokozuna, and everyone he encounters wants to fight him as well! Ozu calls Mikey to congratulate him- in the middle of a fight- and tells him that in some of life's situations, you are your own worse enemy. Mikey forms a solution from this advice by simultaneously being the Yokozuna and the opponent in his next match, thereby, erasing the current Yokozuna once he changes back to himself. In the subplot, Gonard pretends he was beaten up to get the girls to pamper him.
Episode 12 - Lost In Transportation
Original Airdate: August 20, 2006 and October 8, 2006 (episode appeared out of natural order)
Because he doesn't fit in the LilyMu battle wagon, the stubborn Mikey wanders off looking for acceptance and falls in with a biker gang called The Chums. This is bad, because the rest of the gang is at the birthday party of their biggest sponsor's son- and he wants Mikey.
Episode 13 - Big Trouble in Little Tokyo
Original Airdate: September 3, 2006 on Nickelodeon
Guano is tired of the LilyMu cast ignoring him. Mikey doesn't even listen to him when he tells him not to go to the secret floor in LilyMu tower. When they get to the floor, they meet a mad scientist who made all the monster movies. But when everyone started bossing him around, he confined himself to the secret floor. Mikey, in an attempt to free Guano, supersizes Gonard,, who starts to attack the city. His friends finally listening to him, Guano supersizes himself and defeats Gonard, turning him back to normal. In the subplot, Ozu has Yes Man perform dangerous comical bloopers.
- This is the thirteenth episode, keeping within the theme of the number 13 (It was the number of the secret room and considered an unlucky number).
Episode 14 - The Phantom of the Soundstage
Original Airdate: October 28, 2006
When Mikey discovers a book on good pranking, he immediately pulls "innocent" pranks on the rest of the cast. Lily and Mikey hear that the soundstage is haunted by the Phantom of the Soundstage, who is Ozu's janitor by day, and whose soul purpose is to punish anyone who dare pull a prank. Lily is fed up with Mikey's pranks, so she aligns herself to the Phantom to get revenge with the biggest prank ever. In the subplot, Guano's costume gets covered in yellow-green paint due to Mikey's ruckus, and he must face his fear of possibly living outside his suit, with Gonard and Mistuki giving him advice.
Episode 15 - Battle of the Band
Original Airdate: November 4, 2006 and November 26th, 2006 on Nickelodeon
The gang discovers unused musical instruments in the soundbooth and decides to form a band! The catch: they are all terrible at it. Ozu mistakes the ringtone on Mikey's cell phone for the real thing, and immediately seeing the money rolling in, spends millions on ads for a very special LilyMu musical episode! The band must keep their cover by pretending to play, in sync with Mikey's ringtones. When they become bigger than ever, things get complicated when a rival musical group named Ori and Yori challenge them to a rock duel. There is no subplot in this episode.
- This episode features rock songs written and composed just for this show.
Episode 16 - La Cage Aux Mikey
Original Airdate: November 19, 2006 on Nickelodeon
When a reporter from Cleveland visits the set to do a story on Mikey, Mikey lies about his friends to make himself sound more important. When his parents read the story and announce that they’re coming to visit, Mikey must get his friends to play along with his outrageous lies. In the subplot, Ozu torments Yes Man once again but making him the guinea pig for his new weather-controlling invention when his golf game is rained out. This episode spoofs the storyline of the classic French play La Cage Aux Folles, and subsequently, the 1996 film The Birdcage.
Episode 17 - Reality Bites
Original Airdate: December 3rd, 2006 on Nickelodeon
Guano gets writer's block and can't come up with scripts anymore, so Ozu turns LilyMu into a reality show about the stars' lives in order to fill airtime. Soon, the cast realizes they don't want their pivacy intruded upon, so they must find a way to dodge the cameras, cure Guano's writer's block, and convince Ozu to turn the show back into the way it was. There is no subplot in this episode.
Episode 18 - A Christmas Mikey
Original Airdate: December 7, 2006 on Nickelodeon and December 9, 2006 on Nicktoons Network
Mikey tries to get Ozu to renew his contract, but Ozu, in the midst of his annual holiday angst, shouts out that Mikey was hired on the show because he won a contest, and that he is not a great actor. Crushed, Mikey is about to leave for Ohio. He bumps into Lawrence, his guardian angel, who shows him what things would've been like if he had NOT won the contest, similar to the classic film It's A Wonderful Life. In the subplot, shortly after the meeting, Ozu is confronted with the Ghosts of Japanese Christmas Past, Present, and Future, to make him understand where his holiday depression came from, like A Christmas Carol.
- It is revealed that Guano is Ozu's son. Whether or not this is cannonical remains to be seen.
- In the order of the series, this episode is supposed to be the last of Season 1, the 26th, as Mikey's expiring contract reflects. It is shown, instead, as the 18th to air, in time for Christmas 2006.
Fake 1- Whoops!
Lily and David get tickets to a Yankees game and they are so excited. They were playing against the Red Sox in a home game. By the bottom of the 3rd the Yankees are losing 3-1 and they notice that Mitsuki is one of the anouncers. A heartbreaking moment- Lily caught (what she thought was) a foul ball and costed the Yankees the game. The Sox then taunt Lily. However, Mitsuki makes her day better by giving both of the kids $100 each.
[edit] References
[edit] References to American Pop Culture
- Many of the episode titles are parodies of American movies, such as The Sum of All Fears, Mission: Impossible, Reality Bites, and Lost in Translation (which, ironically, features an American actor character trying to survive in Japan).
- The episode Ship Of Fools is most likely named after a song called Ship Of Fools by the Doors. Ship of Fools is also a classical novel.
- In Easy Come, Easy Gonard, the countdown clock shown is from the American television series 24.
- In the episode Sumo of all Fears, the Lilymu episode is almost identical to the climax to the first Spider-Man film.
- In the episode Ship Of Fools, while Mikey and Guano are shipwrecked, Mikey begins to talk to a broken volleyball with a bloody handprint face on it, similar to the volleyball companion Wilson in the movie "Castaway".
- In the episode Lost in Transportation, when Mikey is in the coffee shop with the bikers, he tries to "dance his way out", so he jumps up on the counter and does a dance very similar to the Pee Wee Herman dance. The scene is a reference to "Pee Wee's Big Adventure".
- In the episode Ship of Fools The Videogame has graphics straight from Donkey Kong.
- Lily tends to frequently use the Internet-lingo term, "OMG"... so much that her friends have started saying it out of habit as well.
- Zangief and Chun-Li from Street Fighter can both be seen in the episode Ship Of Fools, Zangief in a Kappa Mikey suit, and Chun-Li in a red variation of her usual suit. Zangief also returns in The Fugi-Kid in his Kappa Mikey suit to urge people inside the courthouse to "Free Mikey!"
- In the episode Battle of the Band, their rival band is called "OriYori". Ori and Yori, and the name of their band, are an obvious spoof of Ami and Yumi from the Cartoon Network program Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, which is a cartoon version of the actual Japanese band PUFFY.
- in the episode Big Trouble in Little Tokyo, Dr. Igor and his origins are a reference to Claus Von Stinehower, the main antagonist of the show Monster Warriors.
- Lily's Punchbug's name comes from the children's game "slug-bug" or "punch-buggy", in which one child yells out "slug-bug!" and hits another in the shoulder or arm when they spot a VW Beetle. This is usually played as a car game (that is, played in a vehicle driven by an adult).
- In Mikey Likes It (Garbage), when Mikey goes to retrieve the photo album of Mitsuki's that he accidentally threw out, Mikey jumps over a series of barrels, a reference to Donkey Kong.
- Socky may be a parody of G4's ED the Sock's Night Party
- In "A Sumo of All Fears" when Mikey does his little dance, the music playing may be a reference of the song "Makaraina" (Mack-uh-rain-ah.)
- In the alternate version of history shown in A Christmas Mikey, Mitsuki has a monkey named Professor Bobo, likely a reference to the Mystery Science Theater 3000 character of that name.
- During the theme song, there is a scene where it shows Mikey dancing in a white, button-up shirt, his underwear, socks, and sunglasses accompanied by a pair of dogs. This is a scene taken from Mikey Impossible, and is likely a reference to Tom Cruise in Risky Business.
- In A Christmas Mikey, Mitsuki's performance in the mansion scene is a parody of Marilyn Monroe's in Sunset Boulevard .
[edit] References to Japanese Pop culture
- The show's title is a variation on the word kappamaki, a type of sushi. It is suggested that it was the inspiration for naming the title character Mikey, and uses the prefix kappa, which is a Japanese water demon, though, the demon has not been referenced in the show as of yet.
- In the theme song, a character resembling Gō Mifune from Speed Racer is driving the limousine that Ozu and Yes Man are joy-riding in.
- Sean Schemmel (Gonard) is one of the many English voices of Goku and miscellaneous characters from Dragon Ball Z, which Gonard's [off-set] design is deliberately spoofing. His character's appearance on the "LilyMu" show is also a spoof of the typical demon-like characters Goku and his friends constantly fight against in Dragon Ball Z. Gonard's love of food may also be a spoof of Goku's large appitite.
- In the theme song, there is a girl wearing a hat similar to Puchiko's from Di Gi Charat, except that the hat is pink.
- In the episode "Saving Face", the highly successful sock puppet pop idol Socky has an entourage of three women who look suspiciously like Kagome Higurashi from InuYasha, Shampoo from Ranma ½, and Rei Ayanami from Neon Genesis Evangelion. Also accompanying Socky is an agent/bodyguard who strongly resembles Batou from Ghost in the Shell.
- Seen in the theme song, (and a photograph in Dr. Katashi's office) is a pink-haired "persocom", as immortalized in Chobits. Although from the before-and-after pictures in the plastic surgeons office, it appears she merely had cosmetic surgery.
- The pirates in the Ship Of Fools episode seem to resemble characters of One Piece. Much like the One Piece pirates, they have exaggerated physical features.
- Dr. Katashi bears a strong resemblance to Kakashi Hatake from Naruto in his hairstyle and the fact that he hides one eye with his headband, while his face also resembles that of Professor Oak from Pokémon.
- Agent Yoshida, who appears in The Fugi-Kid, is a direct spoof of Commander Amarao in FLCL. Yoshida has thick eyebrows like Amarao does, but we never see them come off, and his hair is green instead of red.
- The phrase "Oh, Mikey!", which is said several times in the show, seems to be a nod towards the Japanese television show Oh! Mikey, which also has the premise of Americans moving to Japan.
- In the episode "Battle of the Bands", Yami Yugi from Yu-Gi-Oh! makes an appearance as a character named Yugh. He looks just like Yami Yugi, although they exaggerate the hair size quite a bit.
- In the episode "The Good, The Bad, The Mikey" while at Tatami Megastore there is a boy seen from the back above his waist who greatly resembles "Edward Elric" from "Fullmetal Alchemist" with blonde hair, a braid, and a red jacket. Later this boy can be seen walking away and actually has two braids and the red jacket is only a sweatshirt.
- in the episode "Battle of the Bands" mostly all the guitars are blue rickenbacker Model 4003 basses, simlar to Haruku's bass guitar in FLCL
[edit] Cultural errors
- Since the show is made in, and for, the United States, nobody in the show talks in Japanese, and the main characters all have American accents, with the exception of Ozu and Yesman. There are even minor characters who have accents from other countries, like Pierre the waiter (French), even though they are clearly supposed to be Japanese citizens. This may be a spoof on the way American studios redub anime to fix the cultural gap between translations.
- In the episode Ship of Fools, the video game boxes for the Lily-Mu video game have a rating of "E for Everyone" from North America's Entertainment Software Rating Board rating system rather than a rating from Japan's Computer Entertainment Rating Organization rating system.
- Whenever books appear in the show, sometimes the front cover is on the left instead of the right, which is because in Japan, people read from right to left. But other times, the front cover is still on the right. Strictly speaking, this is not entirely in error as some Japanese books do have the cover on the right, but they're not common. This also may be a spoof on the practice in early dubs to heavily edit the animation to the point of various frames being flipped to give the impression of a show being set in America (ex. flipping books, cars on the "right side" of the road). Sailor Moon relied on this heavily, as well as extreme zooms (to cut off foreign text), reassigning gender, names, locations, etc., thus the spoof.
